Author Archives: Chaitanya Charan das

Mind It 3 – Choosing healthy response to problems
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[Seminar at ISKCON, Chowpatty, Mumbai]

Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/02-18%20classes/Mind%20It%203%20-%20Choosing%20healthy%20response%20to%20problems.mp3

 

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Mind it 3 choosing healthy response to problems from Chaitanya Charan

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How does prayer affect karma?
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Answer Podcast

https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/01-18%20QA/How%20does%20prayer%20affect%20karma.mp3

 

Transcription :

Transcribed by: Suresh Gupta

Edited by: Raji Nachiappan

Question: How does prayer affect karma?

Answer: Karma is the mechanical process of the law of action and reaction. God is not the cause of this system. God exists beyond the system and he oversees the system. The purpose of karma is not simply punishment or even disciplining, rather it is reformation. If somebody is willing to reform, then there is no need for punishment. Even in our judicial system, if someone is sentenced to ten years of imprisonment, but if they behave well, then the sentence can be decreased. Similarly, the principle of karma is that an action will beget a reaction. However, there is a purpose to the system, it is not mechanical. The purpose is important and the purpose of the system of karma is to help us live in harmony with our essential spiritual nature which is to become good as well as godly human beings. To the extent we do that, then karma does not need to operate.

How God can intervene amidst the principle of karma can be understood by an example. Suppose there is a strict teacher and then there is a student who has not done his homework. Since the teacher is very strict, the mother knows that the teacher is going to punish the child for not having done the homework. The mother does not want the child to be beaten, at the same time the mother does not want the child to be lethargic and irresponsible. Therefore, what the mother does is, when the child goes to school, the mother puts a thick glove on the child’s hand. Now, when the teacher punishes, the stick will hit the child’s hand but it will not hurt the child, because the gloves are offering the necessary protection. Similarly, the mother is like Lord Krishna, the teacher is like the material nature and we are like that errant child. By our karma, or by not doing our homework, we are supposed to get punished. However, when we pray to Krishna, then the prayer becomes like a glove for us. The distresses of the world may come but they will not hurt us as much, because of our consciousness and absorption in Krishna.
Mac-chittah sarva-durgani mat-prasadat tarishyasi – If you become conscious of Me, you will pass over all the obstacles of conditioned life by My grace (Gita 18.58).

Many times, when problems arise, it is not so much the problem that troubles us, but it is our mind which goes on hyper-imaginative drive. The mind thinks about all that which can go wrong, that troubles us more. Therefore, it is not the reality that hurts us, it is the resentment of reality that hurts us much more. If we were to go for a picnic and just one day before we get flu, then getting flu is not very painful. However, when our mind beats up about why this happened, such resentment hurts us more than the […]

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Gita 16.13 Let the mind’s chariot take us where we want to go, not where it wants to go
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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/Lecture%20series/Gita%20verse-by-verse/Gita%2016.13%20Let%20the%20mind%E2%80%99s%20chariot%20take%20us%20where%20we%20want%20to%20go%2C%20not%20where%20it%20wants%20to%20go.mp3

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Why are there many religions – can we believe in more than one religion?
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Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/01-18%20QA/Why%20are%20there%20many%20religions%20-%20can%20we%20believe%20in%20more%20than%20one%20religion.mp3

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Mind It 2 – How unrealistic expectations hamper our relationships
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[Seminar at ISKCON, Chowpatty, Mumbai]

Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/02-18%20classes/Mind%20It%202%20-%20How%20unrealistic%20expectations%20hamper%20our%20relationships.mp3

 

Podcast Summary

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/02-18%20classes/Summary%20-%20Mind%20It%202%20-%20How%20unrealistic%20expectations%20hamper%20our%20relationships.mp3

Video:

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Mind It 1 – Understanding the modes, mind and emotions
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[Seminar at ISKCON, Chowpatty, Mumbai]

Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/02-18%20classes/Mind%20it%201%20-%20Understanding%20the%20modes%2C%20mind%20and%20emotions.mp3

 

Podcast Summary

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/02-18%20classes/Summary%20-%20Mind%20It%201%20-%20Understanding%20the%20modes%2C%20mind%20and%20emotions.mp3

Video:

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Teaching evolution in schools: what science explains and what explains science
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An Indian Union Minister of State recently triggered a furor by stating that evolution is unproven scientifically and shouldn’t be taught in schools.

Before examining the tenability of this statement, we need to understand what is implied by the word evolution. It refers to different things in different contexts.

In today’s public discourse, evolution is used in three broad senses:

Adaptation of species
Emergence of new species
All-explaining naturalistic ideology

 

Adaptation of species: Evolution can refer to the variation that happens within species as they adapt to their environment by developing certain features. For example, flora and fauna in deserts develop mechanisms to store water. Such adaptation is a well-documented phenomenon that doesn’t need to be doubted or disputed. Nature has endowed living beings with the capacity to adapt to their environment – in that sense, living beings do evolve. Almost all the hard evidence provided by science textbooks for evolution is for such biological adaptation, which can be termed as micro-evolution.

 

Emergence of new species: Evolution also refers to the mechanism by which one species changes into another – a phenomenon that can be termed macro-evolution. Whereas micro-evolution connotes a mechanism for the survival of the fittest, macro-evolution connotes a mechanism for the arrival of the fittest, or, in general, for the emergence of any entirely new species. The notion that incremental variation within a species can lead to the formation of another species – that such gradual change explains the origin of all species – is a gigantic leap in speculative inference that begs for evidence. This change is believed to happen so gradually that it can’t be observed, so proponents of macro-evolution turn to the fossil record as evidence. However, the fossil record doesn’t provide much help, as is admitted by prominent evolutionists themselves.

“The curious thing is that there is a consistency about the fossil gaps; the fossils are missing in all the important places.” – Francis Hitching, The Neck of the Giraffe or Where Darwin Went Wrong
“Paleontologists have paid an enormous price for Darwin’s argument. We fancy ourselves as the only true students of life’s history, yet to preserve our favored account of evolution by natural selection we view our data as so bad that we almost never see the very process we profess to study.” – Stephen J Gould, The Panda’s Thumb

Of course, being evolutionists by belief, they don’t let the paucity of evidence challenge their belief – instead, they come up with new theories. Whether those new theories actually address the problem remains debatable.

Nonetheless, evolution has many aggressive proponents who try to shut down any debate by labelling evolution’s critics as anti-scientific fanatics who want to take the world back to the Stone Age. Embarrassingly for such evolutionists, many of those who question evolution are credentialed scientists. And not just a handful, but several hundreds, as is evident from the list at dissentfromdarwin.org. It has over 800 scientists, with the number continuously increasing.

As a society, we value freedom of expression. So, shouldn’t we value the freedom of expression of those scientists […]

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Gita 16.10 Taking shelter of lust amidst problems is like taking shelter of kidnappers when threatened by thieves
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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/Lecture%20series/Gita%20verse-by-verse/Gita%2016.10%20Taking%20shelter%20of%20lust%20amidst%20problems%20is%20like%20taking%20shelter%20of%20kidnappers%20when…

Appreciating Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy, devotional ambitiousness and humility
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[Nityananda Prabhu appearance day talk in Mumbai, India]

Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/01-18%20classes/Appreciating%20Nityananda%20Prabhu%27s%20mercy%2C%20devotional%20ambitiousness%20and%20humility.mp3

 

Video:

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Spiritualizing our relationships – Hindi
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[Hindi Sunday feast class at ISKCON, Mira Road, Mumbai, India]

Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/01-18%20classes/Spiritualizing%20our%20relationships%20-%20Hindi.mp3

 

Podcast Summary

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/01-18%20classes/Summary%20-%20Spiritualizing%20our%20relationships%20-%20Hindi.mp3

Video:

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Devotees who succeed in getting external results are looked up to in our movement – what to do?
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Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/01-18%20QA/Devotees%20who%20sucked%20in%20getting%20external%20results%20are%20looked%20up%20to%20in%20our%20movement%20-%20what%20to%20do.mp3

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Gita 16.05 Acknowledging where a car’s wheels are pointing is not accusing the car driver
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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/Lecture%20series/Gita%20verse-by-verse/Gita%2016.05%20Acknowledging%20where%20a%20car%27s%20wheels%20are%20pointing%20is%20not%20accusing%20the%20car%20driver.mp3

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